Setup: You can establish a small breeding group of one male and three females in a ten-gallon enclosure. Make sure you have a lid with good ventilation, though you need to clean the substrate regularly. Larger breeding colonies require larger facilities. Use a two-inch layer of aspen shavings as a substrate. Old (but clean) toilet paper rolls make inexpensive hide, play, and chewing material. Room temperature is ideal for mice.

Feeding: Provide your mice with a healthy, varied diet, including fruits, vegetables, seeds, oats, and other grains. Rodent lab blocks designed for mice and rats are a good staple, as well. Provide clean water at all times in a water bottle with a metal spout. Keeping your mice well fed and watered (as well as maintaining proper and clean cage conditions) will keep your litter numbers up.

Reproduction: Mouse gestation (pregnancy) lasts about 20-30 days. After giving birth, females can usually become pregnant again right away. It will be about 4 weeks, however, before the newborns are weaned. At this time, you should separate any males other than the original breeder to eliminate competition. Otherwise, breeding colonies will do best if you disturb them as little as possible. Another reason for separating mice, however, is if the mother begins killing and/or eating the babies, which is quite common in her first litter only.

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Published on: 2004-11-20 (2044 reads)